Gibby gets fixed!

Despite the antibiotics, Gibby's wound just wasn't healing very well like they usually do. It was getting worse.  So on Tuesday, off we go to get it checked and cleaned up. Once he was down for the count....

 .....it was clipped, scrubbed and flushed like crazy to get all the gunk out.

 A much better looking wound!

By the time I got him home he was already up and about and....don't be shocked.....went right for his food! Priorities ya know! LOL

Thanks so much Dr. Rice and Maris for making him feel much better!

He's healing much faster now. He needed some hot packs for a couple days to keep it draining....luckily he's a very good patient....but it's all dried up now and he'll be good to go in no time I think.

And they're off.......Michelle's group gets released.

Sunday night Laurie and I released the last of the gang going out this fall. We were a little more attached to this crew so it was a little bit tougher saying goodbye! We brought Vin back over too. He healed well and was ready to go. We figured it would not be difficult bringing him back into the pen since none of them had an issue with each other the day we found him in there.....and we were right! He immediately had friends coming over to say Hi and play! Laurie became a human tree when some treats were brought out to make everyone come over so we could check them before releasing them.....it's blurry but great! They were moving so fast I'm lucky I got it at all!

Two of the beach boys had some issues....one had a scraped nose and one had an abscess right between his eyes! What the heck! While mulling the situation over in my mind, he ended up popping it in the mad rush for treats and was very diligent using his paws to clean it. So issue resolved.....abscesses are very common in them in the wild and most usually resolve themselves unless they are as extensive as Vin's were. This is already draining now and he can easily reach it to keep it clean and draining so he should be fine. We'll keep an eye on him also.

So decision made, a final goodbye to the gang....especially my sweetheart Michelle.....
(sniff, sniff!)

....and out the door they go!

The abscess was already looking better.....and he's still doing a great job keeping it clean! He certainly isn't acting like it bothers him!

A den box was put on top of the pen after we put the gang in there in case another of Vin's gang made their way back injured....this way they would still have a safe place to hole up since they wouldn't be able to get into the pen for a while. This crew wasted no time investigating it.

The rest of the time we were there they spent running around like maniacs and obsessing over acorns! This crew didn't just melt off into the woods like the first crew.....they hung out around the pen like they usually do and Laurie and I finally snuck away to leave them with their fun!

Vin's second release...he stuck around this time.

We didn't see Drake there when we released them, but I'm sure he's around and will catch up with them....I saw him hanging out near the pen just the day before so I know he's doing great and will be very happy his buddies can join him now!

Laurie went by Monday morning and the majority of the gang were sacked out in the den boxes in and on the pen. Vin really likes this gang and he's apparently decided to stick with them instead of head back out to wherever the rest of his brothers disappeared to a couple months back.

We'll keep an eye on the area for a while until eventually, they too will move on and find their own homes in the woods.

All the little maniacs!

The gang is thoroughly enjoying the warm, DRY, sunny weather! Poor Phoenix appears to have developed an abscess on her face. Not surprising with some of the squabbles going on in there. That's why I'm trying to get the release pen done and get them out there!

Poor girl....she's starting to look like a bull terrier with the swelling. It's not fazing her much at all though, just as rambunctious as the rest of them!

This is what most of the boys are dealing with! A bitchy female, ears back, barking in their ear anytime they try to do anything. It's the perfect cliche....I can hear you guys now..."Typical female".....LOL! Well sometimes the boys deserve it too!

But for the most part....girls just wanna have fun! And raccoons certainly know how to have fun....they are definitely one of the biggest clowns in the animal kingdom!

Cinnamon's funky mask marking has returned to normal....now her brother Peanut has it going on. Must run in the family.

I finally had to make the decision to euthanize the unexpected visitor that took up residence in the pen after releasing the possies. I finally concluded she was ill, however I seesawed between it being distemper or rabies. She was starting to self mutilate-chewing at one of the wounds on her foot, and though her eyes were clear, her nose was a little gunky. She was also showing some neurologic signs. I'm leaning toward rabies, but could also be distemper. So once she was sedated I drew up some blood and had it sent in for a distemper test. It was the easier and least expensive option....and with no exposure risk the rabies testing was not required. This will basically just help me decide how much of a "hazmat site" the pen is so I can disinfect it appropriately. Hopefully the test results will be back today.